Kevin's Ramblings

Swine Flu.... getting far too much attention?  Some health professionals think so.  Why aren't we hearing about this on the national media coverage?  Why hasn't the Government set the record straight on the statistical figures on the flu?

I don't pretend to know the reasons but one has to wonder why so much media coverage and political noise has been made over a flu that's spread to a few thousand people around the world and killed less than 150 people worldwide?  Let's put that in perspective.  The flu we all get flu shots for every year... yes, that one, the annoying headcold/nausea causing bug that comes every november.... Guess how many people, worldwide, die from "the flu"?  250,000.... yes, that's right... 250,000.  And it's not just in 3rd world countries.  In the US Alone nearly 40,000 people die every year from "The Flu" or from Flu related illnesses.

So why all the hype about a strain of flu that's claimed less than 150 lives and has spread, technically, fairly slowly through the population?   Is it because the current administration, and legislature, have an agenda that includes vast changes in our healthcare system?   I am not one who typically trusts politicians... and after simple fact checking about the flu it became painfully obvious that politicians are making far more of this than it is right now.  Sure it could change and it could become something more serious... but every flu has that chance but we don't hear about this every day... we don't see government offices ordering school systems to close if even 1 person gets sick in the school every year.  Why would they?  That would be silly.  I'm not saying it's unwise to take precautions.  But I think the politicians are using this "pandemic" to spread panic to make it easier to pass major changes to healthcare unopposed.

After all... we gave up many freedoms willingly after 9-11... Travel became much more restrictive, gov't got all kinds of leeway on surveillance methods and other areas of law enforcement than ever before.  And we even allowed the government to do wiretaps without warrants.  I'm not even going to go into the fact that ANYONE could be declared an enemy combatant, even US Citizens and be shipped off to Cuba.... Mind you... I am a supporter of Gitmo and think the move to close it down is a mistake... but the Gov't got incredible powers as a result of one emergency... 9-11.... and we already know that Ram Emanuel feels that you should "Never let a good crisis go to waste!"

So why all the hype about a 'flu' that has caused less harm than the normal flu causes every year?

My opinion only:  Because the Gov't wants to grab more power and they know people are more willing to grant the government power when they are scared.

Don't believe me?  Here's a clip straight from a report from the CDC in 2007:  "56,247 deaths were attributed to flu and pneumonia in 2006"  <-- This was in the USA alone.

So tell me please, why are we putting the public into widespread panic about a "swine flu outbreak that has caused more than 159 deaths and roughly 2500 illnesses"?

Yes, take precautions.  Yes, be aware.... but be wary and don't let your government take away even more of your freedoms because they've managed to scare you about something that happens every year, in far greater numbers, than this 'outbreak'.

Well I called it... the Stimulus package sailed through Congress over the objections of every single Republican and 11 Democrats in the house.  That actually surprised me.  What made the Republicans suddenly remember they are fiscally conservative?  Did we finally get the message across this election that we were tired of seeing Republicans try to act like Democrats fiscally while still cutting taxes?   I dunno... but I was pleasantly surprised that the Republican Party stood firm on the current stimulus package.  As I said in last week's blog on the topic I don't think the entire package is a bad thing... just .... a lot of it... about Half, in my opinion, needs to be scrubbed out of the package and replaced with things that will actually stimulate the economy.  Loads of things have been proposed by various lawmakers and pundits alike.

How about a Tax Credit for people buying new cars?  Or one for folks who buy a house?  Or what about an actual tax cut rather than rebate checks that go out to people who don't even pay taxes?  How about cutting payroll taxes so that small businesses can keep their current employees or, god forbid, actually hire more?   These are just a few of the suggestions I've seen bandied about for things that would actually help stimulate the economy now, rather than 5 years down the road.  Don't get me wrong... the long term projects aren't bad ideas but they don't have any bearing on the current crisis and should be handled in separate legislation.  Now... there are some tax cuts and some nice projects in the current plan, I even said so last week.  But as I said last week I don't think enough of the plan is focused on things that will actually impact the economy.

After further reading and digging through a lot of articles even some of the projects I originally liked I now realize are woefully under funded.  4 billion to revamp the electrical grid when I just found out that according to the pros the grid needs 146 billion in work (now THAT would spur some job growth) just as an example... And many other projects in the current stimulus package suffer the same problem.  Some projects which have plenty of funding can't be ramped up soon enough to help the economy because of the competitive bidding system that congress enforces for using money given out by the government.  In short, by the time the states can use much of the money being tossed at them in the 'infrastructure' parts of the bill we'll either already be out of the crisis or be so far worse off that the stuff in this bill won't even dent the problem.

I'm not alone in this either.  I've seen articles on MSNBC, Newsweek, Fox News, NBC.COM and just about every other news site I can find saying similar things: the stimulus plan has nice lofty goals but it falls short of the important one:  Stimulating the Economy... NOW.  In fact even Democrats in the Senate are now raising serious questions about this Bill.  In my opinion they're a day late and a dollar short but at least the questions are coming up now, before it clears the senate and gets signed by Obama.  The current bill needs a major overhaul to remove ALL of the pork projects that have no impact whatsoever on the economy; ok I know anti-STD research is important but it isn't going to generate job growth or stimulate the economy at all and, thus, doesn't belong in the package.  It also needs to increase the number of projects that will inject much needed capital into the economy now, not 2-3-5 years from now.  One columnist I read even calls the package the "Porkulus" package.  While the package isn't entirely filled with pork there is a significant serving of it in there.  I say we slice some of the pork out of the package and fill the gaps created with more stimulus projects.  Anyone up for a ham sandwich?

Now, I don't.... or didn't... blame Obama for this.  After all his original call was for a package where 75% of the money allocated takes effect in the first 18 months.  I didn't, at first, really feel that it's his fault that over 50% of this plan doesn't take effect till almost 2 years from now.  That was before this weekend.  After everything that's gone on in the past week regarding the Stimulus plan what did Obama do?  Did he go before Congress or the Senate and ask them to work on a better plan?  Did he put his foot down about the frivolous waste of taxpayer money on projects that won't do a thing for the economy?  No... what he DID do was to waste time poking fun at a Talk Show Host... yes... that's right our new and wonderful President felt it was more important to pick a fight with Rush Limbaugh than to deal with the economy. 

Please... Mr. President... I know Rush is a pain and he doesn't exactly like you but can we possibly deal with things that actually matter rather than worrying about what some political pundit is saying on a talk show?  I'd like my kids to be able to go to college.  I'd like to be able to afford to take them on a vacation now and then.  I'd like my daughter to have a job when she's old enough.  You promised change.  You promised bi-partisanship.  You promised you wouldn't bring 'more of the same'.  Start living up to those promises, please.  And, for God's sake, stop picking fights with talk radio hosts.  You have far more important things to deal with.  We, the people, are begging you to be the man you promised to be.

I've long been an avid reader of so many books I've lost track of them all.  In fact I even have 3 checked out from the Library as I write this. Growing up I moved around so much that I rarely had more than a small handful of friends, if any, in many places we lived so I often had time to do lots of reading. I loved the stories I read and the characters in them. Some of those characters were heroes... some villains... some just people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time... Others were great leaders or intellectual thinkers.  Some stories were sad, some were happy, others told of epic deeds.  But all the stories shared one common ingredient:  They got my attention and took me on journeys to other places and let me share in the authors dreams and aspirations or beliefs.  That is the magic of a good book... it can take us outside of ourselves on journeys we didn't expect to go on to places we never dreamed of seeing or experiencing.

In recent times many of the books I loved so much have become Movies, Television Shows and Mini-Series.... In all cases the shows were not the "same" as the books. Most were, however, very similar and the ones where the author (or his proxies) were involved were still quite good. What disturbs me is the mindset of many that the show must be identical, in every way, to the book. Why is this? We already know the book... we have already read the book... While I agree it'd be fun to see a movie or TV show that is exactly like the books we loved so much I also know, in my heart, that those shows wouldn't be all that much fun to watch, especially if it were a TV series.

While it's nice when shows stick 100% to the book I think we, as viewers, need to understand that not all TV shows, Mini-Series or even Movies can be 100% true to the stories they are based upon. Some just don't translate well to the screen... others aren't detailed enough to support a full TV series without modifications and changes. I think, as long as the story stays true to the spirt of the novels we originally read we should cut them a bit of slack in those regards. Perhaps, we as viewers, should regard the shows in their own rights rather than constantly trying to compare them to the books.

Personally I tend to enjoy both... the book... and the show. 

• Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
• A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
• Q. Where will the government get this money?
• A. From taxpayers.
• Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
• A. Only a smidgen.
• Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
• A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
• Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?
• A. Then spend it on a car.
• Q. Won't that just be stimulating the economy in Japan?
• A. Then spend it on gasoline.
• Q. Won't that mean I'm stimulating the economy of the Arab states?
• A. Err... then spend it on a Computer.
• Q. But then I'm stimulating the economy of India!!!
• A. Oh hush and take your money.
• Q. Wouldn't it have just been easier to not take it from me in the first place?
• A. Shut up.

Well our wonderful politicians are at it again.  While I'm no huge fan of Obama nor am I a huge fan of the Democrats I'm also not exactly a poster child for the right either.  I've long straddled the 'middle' as a pretty straight forward independent who happens to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

I was rather impressed with much of the stimulus bill that's wending it's way through congress despite the fact that it's yet another  spending bill.  If you listen to the spinsters on the right (Hannity, Limbaugh, etc) you'd think this new bill had nothing in it that will create jobs or stimulate the economy because all they are focusing on is the social programs.  Many of which have since been slashed from the bill.  They rant about the contraceptives portion of the bill, which the Democrats slashed out of it at Obama's request, or about Medicaid/Medicare benefit monies that are being earmarked for the states that are in need of more funds.  And they, and many Republicans, claim that there's nothing in the bill that will create jobs.  Unfortunately for those who take this stance, it's just not true.  There are loads of provisions in this bill that will absolutely result in new jobs being created, in many different sectors of the economy.  Science, Technology, IT, Medicine, Construction, Energy... and loads of others. 

Democrats, on the other hand, laud the bill as a great project in bi-partisanship.  Which couldn't be further from the truth.  There aren't any republican ideas in the bill at all currently.... so don't let them fool you.  It's a democrat bill coming from a democrat congress (so far anyway).  Republicans are a bit bent and are raising all kinds of fuss over it... possibly somewhat rightly so.  The problem I have with the Democrat point of view is that they seem to think that spending more money, when we're already at record levels of deficit, is a good idea.  I am not so sure.  Yes, the bill creates jobs... but does it create enough to offset the huge hit the economy is going to take from the additional spending?

What I do like about this bill is that it's not giving money to failing companies for a change.  Instead it's focusing on investing money into new, and old, avenues for existing companies to have money making opportunities.  Areas like science, technology, renewable energy, biotech and research.  Road improvements, infrastructure improvements, the list goes on, and is quite lengthy.  I took the time to read through the full text of the bill here. 

I also noticed that the bill calls for tax cuts, including the AMT, which could help a lot of middle class Americans, but what did alarm me about it is the bill doesn't cover extending or making permanent any of the existing Tax Cuts we got under Bush.  So don't assume that your taxes will remain low for long.  As much as they plan to reduce taxes in this bill if the Bush cuts aren't made permanent we're all in for a fairly hefty tax increase come 2010.  Yes, even the 'poor'.  So keep an eye on our sneaky politicians on that regard.  They talk a lot of talk, including democrats, about wanting to lower taxes for the poor and middle class but so far haven't done a thing to make the current tax cuts for those two income brackets permanent or even extending them.  If they're allowed to expire we'll be facing an effective tax increase, no matter what Democrats (or Republicans) try to spin it as.

At any rate, back to the bill...

There's a load of stuff in there and, I do agree with some republicans, there is still a lot of fluff in it.  If it goes forward as is it might help... but it will certainly be a LOT of money that the government is going to somehow, someday, have to pay back... 800 billion and growing by the day.  That's on top of the already over 1.3 trillion they spent last year in 'stimulus/bailout' packages.  While the spending areas are actually not horrible ideas the problem is that we are already at a deficit that is 8.3% of GDP.  Adding this bill on, as it stands now, will increase that deficit to over 10% of our GDP, which is the largest deficit the country has faced since WWII.  One of the big problems with this is we have no idea how long, nor how deep, this recession is going to run and we have no real promise that the package being proposed will really improve things.  They could very well get worse for a while, before starting to recover.  The question is, how long can our economy support a 10% deficit?  How deep into debt are we willing to put our children and grandchildren for our generation's mistakes?

(un?)fortunately we don't really have a say in whether they spend the money or not.  At this point it's a foregone conclusion that whatever hits Obama's desk is going to get signed.  And neither Democrats nor Republicans seem inclined to kill this thing outright.  So we're going to get some form of this bill eventually.  The President wants it ready for signature by mid February.  I suspect we'll see some minor changes between now and then but eventually this bill will get signed into law.  Republicans have already stated they won't filibuster the bill in the Senate (which is the only place they have the means to stop it) so the only real obstacle for democrats is their own 'blue dog' constituency (about 59 votes in congress, and a few in the senate).  If they can keep those on board this bill will sail through both houses and onto the President's desk.

Probably a good idea for folks to read the bill themselves and not let the pundits form their opinion for them.  There's some wonderful stuff in the bill.  Unfortunately it comes at a time when we really can't afford a ton more spending, in my opinion.  Then again I'm of the mind that we let the economy self-correct.  Implement laws and enforce the current laws on everyone and let the market take care of the rest.  99% of the problems with our economy have come about due to regulations not being followed properly and oversight not occurring when it should.  The market isn't at fault.  People are.

Link to full text of the bill on Huffington Post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/24/house-stimulus-bill-full_n_160569.html

Saw this interesting article on Yahoo news... apparently Viacom is pinching Time Warner and threatening to pull it's channels if Time Warner doesn't agree to a huge hike in the price of carrying Viacom's channels.

Let's be honest:  Those channels have abyssmal ratings which happen to be on the decline.  Heck... I can count on 1 hand the number of times I've bothered to tune into any of their stations over the past 3 months myself (I'm on Cox though... not Time Warner so I could care less what they do).   Apparently Viacom thinks it's just fine and dandy to increase OUR cable prices during a recession where the pinch is on US, not them.

Last time I checked Viacom was still making a profit whereas I can't say the same for my family.  The recession is causing havok with my 401, my savings and god only knows what it's going to do to the cost of keeping my family fed, educated and other things.  But Viacom doesn't give a rip about that.  they'd rather hike the price of their channels by almost $39 million.

That's right... $39 million.

My advice?  Write/Email/Call Time Warner and tell them to stand firm.  I don't normally side with cable companies but on this one they are right.  They are trying to avoid a dramatic increase in their cost of doing business which would result, directly, in an increased cost to their subscribers during a time when everyone, not just the little guy, should be pulling together to try to keep costs down in our country.

Viacom doesn't get it.  Time  Warner does.  I'm not saying they're altruistic giants on this... just that at this point in time they're doing the right thing... and we should encourage that type of behavior.

So... if you're reading this... and happen to be a Time Warner customer... call them and thank them for refusing to bow to Viacom's nonsense.  After all... every single show that Viacom is threatening to yank can be viewed online anyway ;)  And you and I both know they won't yank their Internet presence :)  It actually makes a revenue for them.

A family member forwarded this item to me in E-Mail... As a former member of the military myself I found it very touching and thought I'd share it with you.

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"  So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

 

Credit:
PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

More information is starting to show up around the web about the particulars of "Star Wars:  The Old Republic" which is under development by BioWare, original makers of the "Knights of the Old Republic" Star Wars Title which won acclaim from both gaming magazines and star wars fans alike.  I got most of my information (and the layout for this blog entry) from MMORPG.COM.  They really do have good journalists who go dig up stuff.  I also did some digging of my own, however ;)  After all, we can't use just ONE source for our information :)  

Here's some of what has been revealed about the upcoming game thus far:

The game will be "story" based, giving players access to companion characters similar to those in the original "The Old Republic" game.  This is an interesting twist in MMORPG gaming.  As far as I'm aware the only other MMORPG to try this is Guild Wars.  And, having played Guild Wars myself, it's a nice touch but, if done wrong tends to lead to fewer player groupings and far more soloing.  I know in Guild Wars it is very hard to find a group of people to work together with.  Many prefer to just use the NPCs for most things and, as a result, the only groups you ever find are groups doing the big chapter missions.   Will be interesting to see how that pans out.

According to Massively, the game will make use of "dialogue trees" also like the original "The Old Republic" RPG. The "trees" will allow players to make decisions within the story that not only impact your companion, but that are irreversible.  While this isn't exactly an earth-shattering concept for RPG's in general it is very new to MMORPG's.  I think only AOC has something even remotely similar.  Personally I'm looking forward to this.  MMORPG's have, for a long time now, lacked any consequences for player actions.  Not since EQ1 and DAOC have the choices you make within the game made a bit of difference to your character.  And even in those it was a limited impact.  Having the choices you make have irrevocable ramifications in the storyline and to your characters will be a nice touch of 'reality' in our fantasy lives (or in this case... sci-fi lives).

According to a quote from BioWare founder Ray Muzyka, found on IGN, “It’s not a day-in-the-life of Star Wars”. Instead, he said that it’s about "being a hero".  I'm guessing this means that we aren't going to get our beloved "Pre-NGE SWG" back... but that's ok.  Even Pre-NGE or Pre-CU SWG had huge issues.   Being that this is an entirely new Star Wars title written by an entirely new Star Wars MMO Dev Team and, yet, being handled by the guys who did KOTOR?  I'm willing to wait and see what they come up with.  I think it'll be awesome, as long as LucasArts doesn't get too persnickety about micro-managing everything like they did with SWG.

IGN also discussed the way that the story for this game is being written, including the fact that the game is employing twelve full-time writers. That's a LOT of writers compared to most other MMORPG's out there.  In fact... I can't think of any that have that many... Though the new World of Darkness MMO that's under development by CCP and White Wolf may have as many. Additionally, each class will have its own story arc.  Hallelujah and praise the lord!  It's about time MMORPG companies started making being a different person mean you have at least a SLIGHTLY different experience in the game world.  EverQuest, DAOC, LOTR and several other MMORPG's have played around with this but only inasmuch as you start in different areas thus have slightly different starting quests (which any other 'person' could get just by going there).  The fact that BioWare is going to the effort to create unique story arcs based on what class/race you choose to play could be very interesting.  From the article on IGN it looks like it's just based on class, but that's a huge step, in my humble opinion.

According to BioWare, and from what can be gleaned from the few screen-shots we have been able to see so far, the graphics in the game aren't intended to be photorealistic.  Instead they are a little bit stylized rather than being hyper-realistic.  Personally I'm not jazzed about that but as long as they don't get overly cartoonish (a-la the clone-wars TV series) I'm ok with them.  So far what I've seen looks pretty good.   And, one must remember, these graphics are pre-alpha testing phase.

1up.com had some interesting information. Evidently because of the number of choices and variety in both the Sith and the Jedi factions, the game is more 'shades of gray (with the Sith side being far darker, in general, of course). 

According to all the information I was able to find with multiple Google searches it looks like planets familiar to Star Wars fans will obviously appear in this game.  As of right now, however, there's no word on whether space flight will be included.  One suspects that, at least initially, BioWare will handle it similarly to the way it was in KOTOR with just a scene of you in your ship and choices of where to go and the game will 'cut scene' you flying there.  One would hope that true space flight and space combat will be added later.  After all... it IS Star Wars :)

Other facts that are known:

As MMORPG's columnist pointed out there are things that have long been known about the game that some folks may have forgotten about in all the hubbub:

• Fans have known about this game’s existence since March of 2006 and for over two years, the folks at BioWare have been tight-lipped about their “secret” project, refusing to confirm/deny whether they were even working on a Star Wars title as their MMORPG.  Fans were fairly certain all along, however, so the announcement really didn't come as much of a surprise so much as a 'long awaited confirmation' to most of us.  There were some rumors, for a while, that it might be a "World of Darkness" MMORPG... but once CCP bought WhiteWolf and announced that they were going to develop just such an MMORPG together that quashed those rumors quickly, leaving the only speculation that BioWare was either doing a Star Wars title or doing something 'completely different'.  Most gamers didn't buy the 'completely different' theory, though.  And in hindsight, we were right! :)  Sometimes it's nice to be right.
• The game will make use of the Hero Engine, originally developed by Simutronics to showcase in their game Hero’s Journey (which has yet to define a release schedule), and now marketed to MMO companies as the foundation for their games.  Personally I was hoping Hero's journey would come out first so I could see how the engine performed :(  Unfortunately with as successful as Simutronics has been at marketing their engine it may be a while before they get around to finishing Hero's Journey (which a lot of HJ fans are pretty bent about, to be honest).
• BioWare, a Canadian company, established an office in Austin, Texas specifically to develop this MMO. <--- Actually I didn't know BioWare was a Canadian company.  I did find it odd that MMORPG.COM didn't mention that BioWare is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts, Inc.  A little tidbit that was announced almost a year ago.  You can find an article about the acquisition here.  Since many of my own friends immediately said "As long as SOE doesn't get involved I MIGHT look at this game" I was pretty surprised that MMORPG.COM left out this bit of information.  Since EA owns BioWare they won't need to find another publisher/producer (SOE) to help them market the game.  EA is already very experienced at marketing MMORPG's in their own right.  Having Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online under their belts through their other wholly owned subsidiaries:  Origin Systems & Mythic Entertainment.   EA also had another fairly popular sci-fi MMORPG under their belt back in the early 2000's that was known as "Earth & Beyond".  Unfortunately they decided to cancel the title due to it not being as successful as they would have hoped.   Prior to that they had another MMORPG of their own titled "Multiplayer BattleTech:  3025" but, unfortunately, due to licensing issues with Microsoft were unable to release the title, to the dismay of the rather large BattleTech Online community...  That said... with EA backing BioWare they won't need SOE... and thus... a lot of potential customers just absolutely need not worry about SOE...

In addition to all of the above, I also received the following tidbit from LucasArts.com (yes, I really am that geeky):

Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ — forge your saga online.

The Internet went ablaze as LucasArts and BioWare officially announced the long-rumored Star Wars: The Old Republic, a story-driven massively multiplayer online PC game set in the timeframe of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic franchise. Star Wars: The Old Republic, represents an innovative approach to interactive entertainment, featuring immersive storytelling, dynamic combat and intelligent companion characters.

Players can choose to play as Jedi, Sith, or a variety of other classic Star Wars roles, defining their personal story and determining their path down the light or dark side of the Force. Along the way, players will befriend courageous companions who will fight at their side or possibly betray them, based on the players' actions. Players can also choose to team up with friends to battle enemies and overcome incredible challenges using dynamic Star Wars combat.

I got this little email from my mom... Lord only knows where she got it from.  She forwarded it on as a political pun but it holds a great deal of truth... what saddens me is that, like most other people in America she's outraged at "politics as usual" and yet... she's voting for a major party candidate.... What better way to keep 'politics as usual' in Washington than voting for a major party member?  What point is there in getting upset, bent out of shape, or angry at politicians if you're just going to keep voting the same people back in office.

Read through this entire post then think before voting... think about who you're voting into office.  Two candidates running in this election are part of the problem.  There are other choices.  There are candidates that truly have different ideas than have come before.  There are real choices out there to make.  If you choose to vote for a major party then please, spare everyone the rhetoric about wanting 'change'.  Because voting for a major party candidate has nothing to do with change at all.

Here's the article I got from my mom:

POLITICS

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

• Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
• Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes? 
• You and I don't propose a federal budget.   The President does.
• You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.    The House of Representatives does.
• You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
• You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
• You and I don't control monetary policy, theFederal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.  I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.   In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.   They have no legal authority.   They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing.   I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.   The politician has  the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes. 

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common 'con' regardless of party.  What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.   For instance, no "normal human being" would have the gall of any Speaker of The House to stand up and criticize a current President for creating deficits.   The President can only propose a budget.   He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.    Who is the Speaker of the House?  The leader of the majority party.  He/She and fellow House Members, not the President, can approve any budget they want.   If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to do so.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility.   I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.   When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist. 

• If the tax code is unfair, it's because they made it unfair.
• If the budget is in the red, it's because they put it in the red.
• If the Army and Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they put them in IRAQ.
• If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way (and believe me, they do!).

There are no insoluble government problems.  Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.   Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do. 

• Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. 
• They, and they alone, have the power.
• They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

Why don't we just vote ALL of them out of office and clean up their mess!
===

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.

1. You can send this to others, and hope' they' do something about it.
2. You can agree to 'vote against' everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.
3. You can decide to 'run for office' yourself and agree to do
   the job properly.
4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the
   current bunch.

YOU DECIDE, BUT AT LEAST SEND THIS ON TO OTHERS WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THIS!

Hope you enjoyed the read.

Now take a look at this website if you are serious about wanting to change the way things are in Washington:
http://www.thirdpartyticket.com

Title of the MMORPG is going to be:  Star Wars:  The Old Republic.

Here's the blurb I just found on MMORPG.COM:

MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood writes this quick piece concerning the official announcement of the worst kept secret in gaming, the BioWare MMORPG based on the Knights of the Old Republic franchise.

Well, the worst kept secret in gaming is a secret no longer as the BioWare / LucasArts joint venture was revealed today to indeed be an MMO based on the popular BioWare Knights of the Old Republic series was announced.

The name of the new game is Star Wars: The Old Republic, and true to its predecessors, it will have a strong focus on story, giving players difficult choices to make and even companion characters that will have access to their own stories and quests.

We only have a few details to go on at this time, but we can already tell you that the game will take place about 300 years after the first two Knights of the Old Republic Games. For those of you out there who might be wondering, that’s about 3,500 years before the original trilogy, so I wouldn’t get hot and bothered about running into Luke Skywalker or his Dad while in game.

The story sees a Galactic Senate post-war that was brought nearly to its knees by the actions of the Sith Empire and while the Jedi are still serving as the defenders of the Republic, its citizens place the blame for crumbling conditions at their feet, straining relations and encouraging the Republic to develop their own protectors, independent of the Jedi.

There will be two different factions in the game: The Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire, each with their own set of classes. Given the information that we have about story, we can draw some assumptions that at least Jedi and Special Forces characters might be available.

I would suspect that something similar might be mirrored on the Sith side of things, with that faction being in a similar state with both Sith forces and their own elite troops.

In terms of platform, the team is only speaking about a PC version for now, but did not rule out the possibility of a move to consoles in the future.

It’s hard to say what this announcement means for the future of the current Star Wars MMORPG, Star Wars Galaxies, currently run by Sony Online Entertainment and while speculation may run rampant, the game’s future is far from certain.

While there are still many questions left unanswered about things like a release schedule, betas, and a business model those many players who have been waiting anxiously for this announcement now have their answer.

MMORPG.com will continue to follow this story and will bring you new details as they become available, including some of the pre-alpha screen shots that have been made available on the official website.

Here are some in-game Screen shots provided by BioWare:

If you're anywhere near as avid a fan of "Anything Star Wars" as I am, you're probably thrilled to hear this news.  I know I am.